Wade Boggs relishes the cheers in return to McCoy Stadium

Saturday

Aug 4, 2012 at 7:44 PM

PAWTUCKET — One of the last times Wade Boggs was at McCoy Stadium was one of the low points of his career.The PawSox had just ended their 1981 season, and Boggs sat patiently in the clubhouse while several

By TIM BRITTON

PAWTUCKET — One of the last times Wade Boggs was at McCoy Stadium was one of the low points of his career.

The PawSox had just ended their 1981 season, and Boggs sat patiently in the clubhouse while several of his teammates learned of their promotions to the big club. Boggs was stunned when manager Joe Morgan never called him into the office.

“I wasn’t going to the big leagues and I had just led the International League in hitting. That was pretty devastating. I had to figure out what I needed to do in my life to take that next step,” Boggs said on Saturday, the day he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame. “I had to carry my bags out to my wife and daughter there, and they anticipated us going north. So did I, really. That was a wake-up call.”

Boggs was back at McCoy on Saturday ostensibly because of what he achieved while in a Pawtucket uniform. He hit .322 in two seasons for the PawSox, including that league-leading mark of .335 in 1981. If not for his game-tying single in the 20th inning against Rochester on June 21 of that season, Pawtucket could not boast of hosting and winning the longest game in professional baseball history.

But minor-league careers, like draft classes and presidencies, invite their fair share of revisionism after the fact. So Boggs was also at McCoy on Saturday because of what he did after he left, in winning five American League batting titles en route to becoming a National Baseball Hall of Famer — one of four PawSox to do so.

The foundation for his entry into that Hall of Fame was laid down in Pawtucket.

“I’m a firm believer that the minor leagues are there for a purpose, and it’s for seasoning,” he said. "After five-and-a-half years, I got my doctorate in Minor League Unviersity, and I was ready for the big leagues.”

To Boggs, Boston’s patience with him at the minor-league level helped him become a big-time major-league contributor — as opposed to the way many players are, in his opinion, rushed to the majors nowadays.

Now 54, the third baseman enjoyed looking back nostalgically at all the things he did — and all the things he was told he couldn’t do. He remembered the long drive home in ’81, and he remembered manager Dick Berardino’s season-ending scouting report after he hit .263 — yes, he knew it was .263 — with Elmira in rookie ball in 1976.

“All the reports were he’s too slow, inadequate third baseman, no arm, no power, sub hitter. He wrote in his report, 'Triple-A best,'” Boggs said. “Sorry, Dick. You were a little low on the upside of the curve on that one.”

That kind of skepticism from others — he recalled Morgan telling him the Red Sox didn’t feel he could play third in the majors — fueled Boggs throughout his career.

“Don’t tell me I can’t do something,” said Boggs. “When someone says he can’t do that, I’m going to show you. That’s the determination I've had all the way through my career…. Don’t pat me on the back all the time, kick me in the butt. Too many people are patted on the back.”

Even for someone previously inducted into the major-league Hall of Fame, having this night at McCoy Stadium was a thrill.

“When you look at the litany of names on the Hall of Fame — not only players but managers and executives alike — it’s a who’s who of whoever’s played the game,” Boggs said. “You go back at all the great players that have come through the International League and how old it is, it’s a tremendous compliment to be among those names and a tremendous honor.”

Boggs was enshrined alongside PawSox president Mike Tamburro — his general manager during that ’76 season in rookie ball. In the visiting dugout was Ryne Sandberg, Boggs’ “wingman” from their induction into Cooperstown together in 2005.

“I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” he said after sharing the lineup cards and a hug with Sandberg.

He was particularly appreciative of the ovation he received from the crowd at McCoy.

“I love that,” he said. “You don’t get that when you walk into your kitchen. When you walk onto a baseball field and people start cheering for you, that’s the greatest thing on the planet because it still gives you goosebumps.”

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